The Unraveling of Public Security in the United States: The Dark Side of Police-Community Co-Production

In this article we review the emergence of police-community ‘co-production’, as a prominent crime control paradigm in the United States. We argue that although allowing citizens to co-produce through programs like Neighborhood Watch may be beneficial in many respects, such co-production is not an unmitigated virtue. While its proponents contend that co-production promises to enrich the provision of public security in the United States, recent events have reinforced warnings voiced by policing scholars and practitioners of a dark side that also continues to threaten, not enhance, public security. As such, we advocate that the future co-production should be embraced cautiously, and its downside risks managed with care.     

Citizen co‐production of cyber security: Self‐help,vigilantes, and cybercrime

Given the limited resources and capabilities of states to maintain cyber security, a variety of co‐production efforts have been made by individuals or by collectives, of varying degrees of organization and coordination. This article identifies different forms of citizen co‐production of cyber security and notes the risk of unintended consequences. Safeguards and principles are proposed in order to facilitate constructive citizen/netizen co‐production of cyber security. Although co‐production of security can contribute to social control, only those activities within the bounds of the law should be encouraged. Activities of private citizens/netizens that test the limits of legality should be closely circumscribed.     

Requirements of prosecution services to deal with cyber crime

The advent of digital technology and the convergence of computing and communications have begun to change the way we live. These trends have also created unprecedented opportunities for crime. Criminal activities that were not foreseeable two decades ago have become facts of life today. Digital technologies now provide ordinary citizens, even juveniles, with the capacity to inflict massive harm. It is essential for public prosecutors to equip themselves with the knowledge that will permit an effective response. The continued uptake of digital technology will create new opportunities for criminal exploitation.     

The Internet, Technology, and Organized Crime

Digital technology has transformed organizational life. Developments in communications, and in information storage and retrieval, to name just two areas, have greatly enhanced the efficiency with which legitimate organizations operate. Unfortunately, the benefits of digital technology are not lost on criminal organizations, which exploit digital technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their own operations. This paper will discuss the organized criminal exploitation of digital technology, by looking at a number of illustrative cases from Asia and around the world. It will discuss the various types of “conventional” organized crime that can be facilitated by digital technology, as well as terrorism, which itself can be regarded as a special kind of organized criminal activity. One fundamental question that the paper will seek to address is whether the activities of Asian organized crime have become substantively different as a result of technology, or whether traditional organized criminal activities in Asia are merely being conducted on a more efficient and effective basis. The paper will note the transnational nature of much organized criminal activity, and will discuss mechanisms for the control of organized crime in the digital age.